NEW YORK: The American IT giant Apple has been accused of poaching key employees of an advanced automotive car battery, revealed in during trial against the California-based company.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Massachusetts by A123 Systems claims that five employees were recruited by Apple in violation of a “non-compete” clause in their contracts.
The complaints allege that Apple “tortiously interfered” with those agreements by “poaching” employees. A123 is a subsidiary of Chinese car parts giant Wanxiang Group, which invested in the Massachusetts firm in 2013.
Apple did not respond to an AFP query on the lawsuit, and it has not commented on reports in the past few days that it is developing its own electric car.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has hired several hundred people for the project with the code name “Titan,” which according to the report could be a car that incorporates some of the technology used on iPhones and iPads.
Bloomberg on Thursday said production of an electric car could begin as soon as 2020.
The move, according to the Journal, would allow the Cupertino, California group to expand its product offerings to reduce its dependence on phones and tablets.
This month Apple became the first company to be valued at over $700 billion after recently posting an unprecedented $18 billion in quarterly profits.
Wamsi Mohan, analyst at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said he views an “iCar” as unlikely but suggests that Apple may be working on an improved technology platform for connected vehicles.
